Robbie Swinnerton serves up morsels from the foodiest city on the planet

gingko nuts

11/09/2015

"Tradition looks quite different in Tokyo than, say, Kyoto. Concealed and evolving under constant layers of renewal and reinvention, you have to search it out. Where to start? Just head to the atmospheric nightlife district of Kagurazaka and make your way to Kohaku…"

Starting with this gorgeous opening dish — kegani (hairy crab) meat glazed with a viscous drape of yuzujelly and served on its beautiful speckled carapace…

Then, a couple of morsels of unagi eel, deep-fried with a dusting of kombu and star anise, served with new-season ginkgo nuts…

Owan: a clear broth of superb dashi, featuring a single large and remarkably tasty shinjo (dumpling) made from kinmedai (splendid alfonsino)…

One of the highlights – not necessarily to look at, but definitely to eat: a rich porridge of mochigome (sticky rice) cooked with suppon (softshell turtle) meat, burdock, ginger, shallots and garlic. Strong flavors for Japanese cuisine, but this was wonderfully invigorating food for the evening chill...

Aki-saba (autumn mackerel) that was marinated with vinegar for four days and lightly smoked over burning rice straw.

Charcoal-grilled nodoguro (seaperch), with a cube of pureed burdock…

Tartare of Tochigi beef, served with a quail's egg cooked in the onsen tamago style, sprinkled with shio-kombu (kombu "tapenade”) and shavings of Alba white truffle. The photo doesn't really do it justice – but this too was superb.

The focal point of the meal. Donabe-gohan, clay-pot rice cooked with madai (sea bream)…

11/29/2010

Higawa is the new (since August) sake specialist izakaya set up by Nakamura-san, who was the manager at Aka-oni for several years.

It's in the back streets of Kita-Sengoku, a 5-minute walk from Ookayama Station on the Meguro Line — an obscure location, even if you live on that side of town, although it's less than 10 minutes by train out of Meguro.

Nonetheless, there are plenty of good reasons why it's worth making the effort to get there.

Top of that list is the sake — as you can tell by that sugidama hanging outside the front door...

...and from the extensive sake list, once you get inside.

For our toriaizu beer, we tried the Ozenoyuki weizen (there are two types).

But we were straight away onto the sake, as soon as our first order of nibbles arrived. Ginnan (ginkgo nuts), kuwai (arrowhead bulbs)and mukago (the buds of jinenjo/yamanoimo yams) — the taste of autumn…